To critique or not to critique

Hi All,

I am new to photonet and will be joining officially next week (when I get my

next paycheck ... ah, the joys of living hand to mouth) but I would like to hear

your opinion on the critique forms.

I personally love to critique other people's work. I do not believe in just

saying: "Great shot", I like to tell people why I love their images. I feel

this is the only way an artist can learn and grow. This also means that I like

telling people what I think could be better.

I am not being "mean" or overly critical, I just know that I would rather hear

what people really think about my work, so I assume others think the same way.

After all, we are all artists and presumably we want to get better at what we do.

Now for my question, is it considered proper Photonet etiquette to actually give

feedback, I read a lot of "great shot" and "I love it" comments. Do you think

people take it the wrong way when I go into details about compositional

elements, or color, or sharpness. So far the critiques I have given seem to

have been appreciated, but of course, I am only hearing back from a small number

of photographers. I don't know what those that don't respond think of my

critiques or if they are offended. I have been avoiding critiquing the images

that I personally think need the most feedback just because I do not want to

hurt anyones feelings. That being said, I would never be malicious or mean

spirited, I just want to help those that in my opinion need the most guidance.

I am in no way an expert, I just find that it is often easier for outsiders to

see an image objectively than it is for the photographer.

I believe that a thoughtful critique causes others to respond in kind and a sort

of dialogue is created where different people give different views, which I

think is absolutely wonderful. After all, we are not meant to all agree with

each other.

Please, I would love to hear your thoughts on this matter, I will be out of the

country for the next couple of days, but I am looking forward to reading your

comments when I get back.

Happy shooting,

Catherine

I believe in constructive criticism, I personally welcome all kind of critiques and I believe that most would welcome a good critique. If critique is always only negative comments/feedback, it might hurt the moral.

In the end I believe it all comes down to your tone.Judging from your posting above, I doubt you would receive much in the way of negative response toward an honest critique. All lot of people offer up sugar coated comments instead of in depth critique. I think this has to do with the amount of effort and time a serious critique takes. I am happy if other members take the time to look at my work and leave a comment of any kind. The most discouraging response is no response.

Gordon,

I agree with you, I would rather receive a comment that may not be as positive than none at all. If I don't receive any reaction I feel my image hasn't touched the viewer.

Chinmaya,

Again, I think there is always a positive in any image, if nothing else the intent to create is there and that in my eyes is the biggest positive of all.

Thanks for your reactions,

Catherine